


Bubba's Little Princess

by scorpiofangirl1109



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Child Abandonment, Child Neglect, Fanfiction, Grandfather, Original Character - Freeform, Other, granddaughter, john munch - Freeform, law and order svu, original child character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpiofangirl1109/pseuds/scorpiofangirl1109
Summary: Detective John Munch loves his granddaughter Katie more than words can describe. She means the world to him, especially after the unexpected and tragic death of his son and Katie's father Josh. So when his granddaughter becomes a victim in a case of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, it all hits close to home for Munch. It is hard for him to see his granddaughter become one of the cases that the unit has taken on. Now Munch has to take care of his granddaughter while figuring out how to be a parent all over again and help his granddaughter through the traumas she has been through.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

_Monday, April 23rd, 2001_

It had been a long day, and all Detective John Munch wanted to do was go home after he and Olivia Benson had gone to ask some questions to some people connected to a case that the detectives were investigating at the moment. But after leaving the apartment building, he and Olivia had been told that they were needed. There was a child abandonment case down the block from where they currently were. So this meant the case automatically fell into the lap of the Special Victims Unit. The cases that involved children were always the hardest for the unit. No one liked dealing with the cases where children were the victims of such horrific things like kidnappings, rape, or abandonment, which was Munch and Olivia had to deal with right now. Elliot was currently assisting Fin with a different aspect of the case, which was why John and Olivia were working together. But Olivia was a good detective, and because this was a case involving a child, it would be helpful as Olivia had a natural talent with kids.

The detective stepped out of the car after Olivia turned off the ignition and got out of the driver’s side of the car. Outside of the apartment building, there were already some police cruisers and the scene was blocked off. But this was different for Munch. This apartment building was where his granddaughter and daughter-in-law lived. Munch had a three year old granddaughter named Katie, who was the daughter of his late son, Josh. Earlier this year in January, Josh was unexpectedly killed in a drunk driving accident, which was the worst day of Munch’s life. No parent should ever have to bury their child. The accident had been three months ago, but John still felt that pain from the loss of his only son. There were days that were harder than others, but slowly the man was rebuilding his life, even though it wouldn’t be the same as it once had been. 

However, the one good thing left in his life was his granddaughter Katie. She was the one piece of his son that he had left now. And John did try to spend as much time as he could with his granddaughter. There were some aspects of Josh that Munch saw in Katie all of the time. While she had inherited her mother Ashley’s blonde hair, her eyes had been the exact shade of brown as Josh's had been. She also smiled like her dad did and also had the same laugh as him. Katie was the one soft spot that Munch had, she was the one person who could bring that softer side out of him. Most people who saw John when he was doing his job would be surprised at the night and day difference from when he was Detective Munch to when he was Bubba. Bubba was what Katie called him instead of Grandpa. Munch was young when Josh was born, only twenty five years old and Josh had been twenty one years old when Katie was born. Becoming a grandfather at forty six years old was something John never expected to happen. So when Katie had been born, Munch was very adamant about not being called grandpa, and when Katie started talking, she had started to call him Bubba, and the name had stuck since then. 

When he had a day off, it was not uncommon to find the detective taking the little girl to the park to play on the playground and ride the merry go round, bringing her to storytime at the library near where she lived, or just bringing her to his apartment. It always made John’s day when he got to spend time with his only grandchild, whom he spoiled, even if the man would never admit to that fact. But in his defense, wasn’t it the job of a grandparent to spoil their grandchild? When Josh was still alive, he used to always tell Munch how he spoiled Katie too much, but John had always said he was the grandparent and it was his job to spoil little Katie. Even if Josh and Ashley did not like it when Munch took her to ice cream before dinner, John enjoyed the time spent with his granddaughter and seeing her smile made it all worth it. 

Munch sighed as he snapped back to reality because he had to focus on the new case he and Olivia were suddenly tasked with doing. Once reaching the responding officers Munch nodded at them slightly as Olivia asked the officer “What do we have?” 

“We have a young female between three to four years old. She was found all alone in the apartment. There was no sign of the mother anywhere, and it doesn't look like the mother has been back for a few days. The child was found on the floor of the living room, dirty and wet from having an accident. The child also is quite dehydrated and has not eaten since the mother left, from the look of things, as there were no signs of a break in or someone forcing their way inside of the apartment. So we called an ambulance to bring her to the hospital to be examined. But the child isn’t talking, so we don’t know her name or her mother’s name. But we were hoping you might be able to get to tell you her name, at least.” The responding officer said to the two detectives as they walked inside the building.

Those details were hard to hear, it was not much of a shock that the young child was not talking to police. Especially after being abandoned by their mother and left alone for days without access to food or water. It was a good thing the child was found before it was too late though. There surely had to be neglect involved if the mother had disappeared and left the child pretty much for dead. If she had been found even two days later, she could have died from dehydration. 

“Who made the call that led to the child being discovered?” Olivia asked as the group began to walk up the stairs to the apartment. 

“A friend of the mother’s, she didn't show up to work this morning and then she called the daycare and found out the girl was never dropped off today to her daycare center, so they called for a welfare check on the two of them. The landlord let me and my partner into the apartment when there was no response. That was when we found the girl.” The officer said. 

“Which apartment are we looking for here?” John asked. He knew from all of the visits he had paid to would be hell if they had to walk all the way to the top floor. 

“Apartment 3D. My partner is still there with the girl right now.” The officer responded as they started heading up towards the third floor landing. 

Once he heard what apartment they were looking for, John felt the color drain from his face and felt his stomach drop. _No. That couldn’t be right. There was no way that was right. This had to be some kind of mistake. There was no way that this was the right apartment number._ The detective tried to convince himself that this was a mistake, it had to be. As the group was getting closer to the third floor the sounds of a young girl crying could be heard. It was easy to tell that the girl was in serious distress and was very upset. The cry was all too familiar to John, and he recognized that cry. That was the moment when John started to run up the steps as he could to get to the apartment. 

“Munch!” Olivia called. “Munch! Wait up! Where are you going?” The female detective kept trying to call out to John, but he ignored her. 

The detective was out of breath when he reached the third floor landing, but that did not matter to Munch. He raced down the hall to where the apartment was located. In front of the entrance to the apartment, there was an officer outside paging for a paramedic. And the cries were much louder now. John raced inside the apartment, over towards the other officer to where the young child was sitting on the lap of the other officer. The Minnie Mouse pajamas the girl was wearing were completely soaked in urine from an accident, and by the smell of things she had not had a bath for several days. In the girl’s arms, there was a stuffed bunny named Bun Bun. She clutched to the bunny like she would die if she were to let go of the stuffed toy. 

“Come here, sweetie.” The detective said gently, taking the young girl from the officer and held her in his arms. This was the moment Olivia caught up with John at last, she clearly had ran as she was panting herself from having to sprint after John. 

“Munch, what was that? Why did you run off like that?” Olivia asked, her expression changing when she saw the look on John’s face. ”Munch? What’s going on?” 

Munch held the young girl in his arms as she clung to him, burning her face into his neck still crying. “It’s alright sweetie, I’m here, you’re going to be ok.” Munch said as he was trying his best to comfort the young child. Calming children was not one of the man’s strongest skill sets. Having worked as a homicide detective in Baltimore didn’t really mean that John had to deal with kids often unless they were the victims or a witness to the crime. But working in the special victims unit meant that Munch worked on cases that involved children more than he had before. 

Eventually, John looked over at Olivia while the little girl cried in his arms and clung to him for dear life, afraid if she were to let go of the man in that moment. Taking a deep breath as he rubbed circles on the little girl's back Munch told Olivia, “It's my granddaughter Katie. She's our victim.” 

* * *

All that kept going through Munch’s mind was _This can’t be happening._ He had had dinner with Katie and her mother just the week before, and nothing had seemed out of line. After work, John had met Katie and Ashley at a restaurant and ate dinner with them. Ashley had not seemed too distant during their dinner. It was not that the relationship between Munch and Ashley was bad. The two of them had an alright relationship with one another. It was a good relationship, as far as one between a father-in-law and daughter-in-law went. When Josh and Ashley had first gotten together, John had liked her, she made Josh happy and that was what was important. After Josh died, Ashley had a hard time. John knew that and he would babysit Katie as a way to help Ashley. But never had he imagined that Ashley would do this to her own child.

Not long after Munch and Olivia had arrived at the scene, the ambulance had shown up to bring Kate to the hospital to be examined. The paramedics had let John ride to the hospital with Katie in the back of the ambulance. The whole way there, Katie had one arm tightly gripping her stuffed bunny, and the other one was tightly gripping John’s hand. There was no way she was letting go of her bubba’s hand. Munch spent the entire ambulance ride trying to reassure his granddaughter that everything was going to be ok, and that he was not going to be leaving her side. But Munch was also trying to reassure himself that everything was going to be fine and Katie was going to be fine. 

When they got to the hospital, the doctors had gotten an IV of fluids right away because of how dehydrated Katie was. The doctors estimated she had not had water in well over forty eight hours, so they had to get fluids in her. Katie had gotten so scared when she saw the IV needle, as well as the needle for the blood test. Munch had gotten the little girl to focus on him and hold onto her bunny so she would not see the IV needle or try to push the needle away. They also gave her some food as well because she had gone the same amount of time without food as she had gone without water. The moment the hospital had brought the food out to Katie, the little girl had started to wolf down the food so fast that she nearly choked. Munch had to pull the food away from Katie to keep her from choking and tell her to slow down because she would make herself sick. The poor thing was acting like she was unsure of when the next time she would get a meal would be. The sight was breaking John’s heart. Eventually, Katie slowed down and didn’t try to shove her food down her throat and ate her food. 

After she was done eating Katie was quiet, holding onto Munch’s hand as he stroked the back of her hair with his thumb, Bun Bun in her other arm. The detective sat in the uncomfortable hard chair next to Katie’s hospital bed, even though Katie kept begging him to come and lay next to her in the bed with her. Although part of John wanted to grant his granddaughter’s wish, he knew the hospital would not be happy with him if he did that. But most likely if she begged him John would do so to make her feel safe. In the hospital room there was a tv, and it was turned onto one of Katie’s favorite tv shows, _Blue’s Clues._ It was helping keep Katie a bit distracted, but she really wanted John to stay with her. Holding his hand provided a sense of security for the young girl. 

Looking over at his granddaughter, Munch leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and pushed some of her blonde hair back behind her ear. The little girl’s hair needed a good wash, as it was oily and smelled a bit funky. The doctors had said Katie could get a bath in a little bit once she had a few more fluids in her system. The young girl was going to have to stay for at least two days in the hospital to be observed, and there was no way that Munch would be leaving her side during this time. Katie would be upset if he were to leave, but it was also to reassure John that Katie was going to be okay, and that she was not going to be going anywhere or that she would be hurt. 

A knock on the door caused Munch to look up, because Kate was more focused on the tv in front of her Munch was sure that she would not notice any doctors or nurses who would come in. Well, Munch just assumed that it was a doctor or nurse who wanted to come into the room. “Come in.” Munch told the person who was outside the door. 

It was not a doctor or nurse outside of the door, but instead it was Olivia who had come into the hospital room. She smiled gently at Katie before looking over at John, pulling over the extra chair in the room so she could sit across from John and Katie. 

“Hey Munch. How’s she doing?” Olivia asked the older detective and looked over at Katie with a warm, gentle smile. But the young girl was so engrossed in the show that she did not even notice that Olivia had come into the room. 

Munch kept rubbing the back of his thumb on Katie’s tiny hand to comfort her, and adjusted himself in the chair before turning to answer Olivia. “She was upset most of the ride in the ambulance, and didn’t like it when they put an IV in her and drew the blood, but she seems to be better now. She had some water but they are putting some IV fluids in her so she can start to get more hydrated. When she got food, though, she started to shove down her throat so fast. I thought she was going to choke, and I had to fish bits of food out of her mouth. The hospital wants to keep her for observation but they say she is going to be alright. Thank god.” Munch said. 

“That’s good to hear. But how are you doing? You OK John?” Olivia asked the older man, knowing how hard this must be for him, having your own granddaughter become one of the victims that the unit had to help and solve her case. 

“I’m alright.” Munch replied. Honestly on the inside, the feelings that he was feeling were complex and he was having so many different thoughts at the same time right now. But he had the overwhelming feeling that he would have been able to prevent this from happening if he had checked in with Ashley more, he should have asked how she was doing, maybe this whole ordeal could have been prevented. 

“I already talked to the doctors taking care of Katie. But I need to talk to Katie.” Olivia said gently. Interviewing young children after a traumatic incident could be a wildcard most of the time. And there was no telling how Katie would react to these questions, though having her bubba by her side would most likely help her in talking even a little.

Munch knew that it was important for the young girl to talk about what had happened leading up to her mother leaving. But the man himself was not sure if he was ready to hear what had happened, because the thought of anything bad happening to Katie was hard enough, but to hear it would be on another level. So John turned towards Katie as the episode of _Blue’s Clues_ ended, he gently took the remote to the tv and turned it off. “Hey sweetie, can you look at Bubba for a minute?” he asked his granddaughter.

Katie looked away from the blank television screen, clutching her stuffed bunny in her arms and softly said “OK, bubba.” 

After Katie said this, Munch smiled softly at his granddaughter and got up from the chair he was sitting in, then sat on the hospital bed next to her. The detective did not care if he was lectured by the hospital staff if they walked in on them right now. This caused the little girl to scoot as close to her grandfather as she possibly could as John wrapped an arm around her. She rested her little head on John’s chest and snuggled close to her grandfather as he held her close. In her right arm, the little girl of course had her stuffed bunny, Bun Bun, and clutching her bunny close to her chest. 

“Hey Sweetie, do you remember my friend, Olivia?” Munch asked Katie gently looking down at her. “You met her when you visited me at work? And she came to the apartment with me.”

The little girl looked over at Olivia and nodded a little bit. “Yeah. She nice. She bring me apple juice.” Katie said. She was referring to the last time she had come to see John at work a few weeks ago. Olivia had brought the little girl some apple juice to drink when Katie was thirsty, which had made Katie happy as she loved apple juice so much. 

“That’s right, I did bring you some apple juice. You have a good memory. Well, I was wondering if we could talk for a bit. Is that OK with you?” Olivia asked Katie gently with a soft smile. Olivia really was great with making kids feel comfortable and like they were going to open up. Plus, with him there, Munch was sure that Katie would feel comfortable enough to answer most of the questions Olivia had for her. 

The little girl looked up at her grandfather and then asked “Bubba, you stay here too?” she asked. During the ambulance ride and arriving at the hospital, little Katie had been terrified about being separated from her grandfather and begged John not to leave her. John knew that this was due to the trauma of being left by her mother, and that she was terrified of being left alone again. 

“I promise sweetie, I am not going anywhere.” Munch promised his granddaughter. He reached over and took one of Katie’s hands and gave it a gentle reassuring squeeze. “I’m not leaving you and I will be here the entire time my friend Olivia talks with you, OK?” 

This seemed to calm the young girl down enough to where she seemed alright with this arrangement. But she seemed to be in a position where she would be fine as long as her grandfather was right by her side. The little girl stayed in the same position, resting her head on Munch’s chest and snuggled up close with him. “OK, bubba.” Katie said. 

“That’s my girl.” Munch said to Katie and held her close to him. He absentmindedly rubbed her arm a bit. The detective was not sure if he was totally ready to hear any of the details regarding what happened to Katie, whom was his little princess. She was the most important girl in his life, and to think something could have happened to her was hard for John to think about. He had already lost his son and he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if something would have happened to Katie as well. “I’ll be right here and you don’t have to worry, OK?” Munch finished so Olivia could talk to Katie for a bit. 

Olivia smiled softly at Katie and scooted her chair closer to the hospital bed now that Munch was sitting in the hospital bed with Katie. “We want to find your mommy and make sure she is ok. I am going to ask you a few questions. You think that you can do that for me?” Olivia asked Katie. “All you gotta do is remember the best you can.” 

The little girl seemed to think about this for a moment before she nodded and said “Okay, Olivia.”.

“Can you tell me what you and mommy did before she was gone?” Olivia asked Katie. As she asked this question the female detective pulled out a small pad so she could write down what Katie told her. 

“Mommy get me from school and then we go home.” Katie told Olivia. She played with one of Bun Bun’s ears as she looked at Olivia. 

“And what did you and Mommy do when you get back home from school?” Olivia asked the little girl. 

“Mommy let me wear jammies and watch Blue’s Clues so she make me dinner. She made my favorite.” Katie told Olivia. The little girl’s favorite meal was chicken nuggets with mac and cheese and it had made the little girl happy and had kept her distracted when her mother had slipped away. 

“You’re doing such a good job remembering a lot of things sweetie. Did mommy eat dinner with you after she cooked it?” Olivia asked, smiling gently at the little girl.

Katie shook her head no when Olivia asked her this. “No. mommy let me eat dinner in front of tv. She say she go make phone call and then be back. I eat by myself but mommy never come back.” Katie told Olivia. 

Hearing this statement made Munch feel a range of emotions all at the same time. On one hand, Munch was glad in a way that even though Katie didn’t seem aware of what happened at first and was distracted. Ashley seemed to have wanted Katie not to worry about her leaving and not coming back. But at the same time, it was strange why Ashley would go into the hallway to make a supposed phone call. Whenever Munch had gone over to the apartment for dinner, Ashley had always gone into the bedroom to take phone calls. So the alarm bells were going off in Munch’s head. But he did continue to listen to what Katie was telling Olivia.

“What did you do when you knew mommy was gone?” Olivia asked Katie gently. She knew that she had to word her questions carefully, with the little girl only being three years old. Plus, the child had been through trauma, so they did not want to trigger her in any way. 

“I try calling for mommy but she no answer me. I scared.” Katie told Olivia fiddling with one of Bun Bun’s ears. 

“Why were you scared?” Olivia asked Katie carefully. She knew Munch might get protective and would get upset by seeing his granddaughter in distress. But she also did not want to scare the young girl to the point she would stop talking. 

“Cause I not know where mommy go.” Katie told Olivia. “I try call and call her but she no answer. That make me cry.” The little girl then scooted a bit closer to her grandfather and seemed a bit on edge now.

That last part made Munch’s heart drop into his stomach a bit, hearing those words come out of the three year old’s mouth. Because, while she may not fully understand what had happened to her, she was clearly upset by what had happened to her and had gone through a lot in the few short days that she had been alone. As Katie scooted closer to him, John pulled Katie as close as he could to her without causing her IV's to be pulled out of her arms. He rubbed her back reassuringly and told her “It’s OK sweetie.”

Olivia seemed to hesitate for a moment before she asked the next question. She read Katie’s body language, as not to further upset the young girl. “Did mommy ever do this before sweetie?” She asked. 

The young girl shook her head no to this question. “Mommy no go away like that.” She told the detective. “She stay with me.” she said. 

Olivia nodded a bit slowly and then asked. “Did Mommy act different before she went away? Did she seem sad? Happy? Scared?” 

The young girl seemed to think for a moment before she shrugged, unsure of what to say. Picking up on emotions may not have been something the young girl had been focused on. And asking her the question had been a long shot anyways, Olivia knew. It was not like she had been expecting too much in that department. “That’s OK if you don’t know, sweetheart.” Olivia told Katie. “But you are doing such a good job answering my questions.” 

* * *

Once Olivia had left, Munch knew he had to try and get Katie to get even a little bit of sleep. When she was alone, Katie had not gotten much sleep it seemed, and by the end of the talk with Olivia the little girl had started to nod off. The talk had emotionally drained Katie and zapped a lot of energy from her. As long as he was there in the room with her, John hoped it would be enough to get Katie to go sleep because her little body needed the rest. Plus, she had her stuffed bunny, his granddaughter refused to go to sleep without her stuffed bunny as it was her security blanket and it comforted her. Even thought was not like being at home in her own bed and being in her own bedroom, hopefully Katie would get some much needed rest. 

“Alright sweetie, I know you have had a long day, but it is time to go night night.” Munch said to Katie as he tucked her into bed with the blankets provided by the hospital. 

“Bubba, you stay with me?” Katie asked Munch. “I no want you to go.” She was clearly still afraid that she would be left on her own once again and she would have to be all alone, like she had been for three nights in a row. 

“I promise I am staying here with you sweetie. Bubba isn’t going to leave you, and once the doctor says you get to leave, you are going to come stay with Bubba at his house.” Munch told Katie. There was the whole process of having to do things such as getting legal custody of Katie in court, but that was something that Munch was going think about later on. Right now he would be focusing on what was happening right now in the present. 

This seemed to comfort Katie a bit, knowing she would not be alone. She then snuggled up to her Bubba and rested her head on his chest, then asked, “Bubba, you tell me a story?”

The little girl loved bedtime stories so much and wanted to be read to every single night, even when it was not bedtime. She couldn't get enough of books. Whenever John would babysit Katie, she always wanted him to read to her at bedtime. And when she would spend the night at his house, she would bring her favorites so she could be read to. It was like when her father had been a little boy and enjoyed having stories read to him as well. 

“Alright. Just one story because you need to get some sleep, OK?” Munch told Katie. He stroked her hair gently. “And then Bubba is going to sleep soon too.” 

“OK, Bubba.” Katie said to her grandfather and snuggled up to him. “Bun Bun want hear the story too.” 

“Bun Bun can listen to, but Bun Bun needs to go to sleep too, OK?” Munch said to his granddaughter. Once the little girl agreed to this, Munch began to tell a story. He was making it up as he went, but his granddaughter seemed to like it so that was all that seemed to matter to him. As the story progressed, it was clear at moments Katie was fighting the urge to fall asleep and did not want to go to bed. But sleep soon took over, and the girl's eyes fluttered shut. Her chest began to rise and fall, and Munch kept telling the story until he was sure that Katie was sleeping. 

Carefully Munch leaned down and gave Katie one more kiss on the cheek, and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. He just watched his granddaughter sleeping peacefully snuggled up to him, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Her much loved stuffed bunny pressed against her cheek, acting as a security guard for her as she was sleeping. It comforted Munch, being able to watch his granddaughter sleep, because it reassured him that she was OK, and that she was right there next to him. There was no way he could leave her side, he did not want to put the young girl through more than what she had already been through. 

A thousand thoughts were going through John’s mind at the moment, but as he was watching Katie sleep, it was only then that the detective was tired himself. It had been a long day on the job, and the past few hours had been very emotionally draining to Munch, finding his granddaughter abandoned and in the state she was in. He also needed the rest, just as much as the three year old did. It was not long before Munch fell asleep next to Katie in her hospital bed, his arms wrapped around her protectively as she was snuggled up close to him. Hopefully morning would come without any major drama before then.


	2. Chapter 2

_Tuesday April 24th 2001_

It was the middle of the night when Detective Munch woke up, still laying next to his granddaughter. The little girl’s cries had woken him up. Katie was crying out for her mother in her sleep and was kicking her legs slightly as she tossed and turned. But she was still asleep and was not aware of her actions at the moment. The sight was honestly heart breaking for John to see. There was nothing that anyone could do to prevent the nightmares but that did not mean that the man wanted to see his granddaughter in such a state. 

So Munch gently shook Katie awake and said “Sweetie, wake up. Come on, sweetie, wake up.”. He was unsure of what else to say to wake up the young girl, but he kept gently shaking her and tapping her shoulder to wake her up. 

It did not take too long for Katie to wake up luckily, and the young girl was upset and buried her face into her grandfather’s shirt as she sobbed hysterically, shaking slightly, still afraid from the dream she had just had. It was obvious to Munch that it was a nightmare. Dealing with nightmares was nothing new to the grandfather, as when his son Josh had been little, like all kids he had nightmares. And he had comforted his son and stayed with him until he fell back asleep. Somehow this was a different situation, mainly because surely this had to be due to the trauma Katie had gone through with being abandoned by her mother. 

“It’s alright, sweetie. It was only a bad dream, you are safe right here with Bubba.” John told his granddaughter, kissing her head and rubbed her back. Part of Munch was unsure of what else to do to comfort the crying little girl in his arms right now as he was not sure of how best to help her. Katie had spent the night with him plenty of times before and a few times she had nightmares at his house. But those were simple as all it took for Munch to calm her down then would sit with her and let Katie cuddle up to him as he read her a story again, she would always fall asleep again before the story ended. This time things were different and Katie was just so hysterical as she cried into John’s chest, making wet spots on his shirt with her tears. 

It took quite a bit of time for the young child to calm down and for her to stop sobbing hysterically. Munch kept holding Katie close and rubbed her back with one hand, she clung to him like a vine. 

“It’s OK sweetie. I’m right here. I am not going anywhere.” Munch reassured the little girl once again. “Do you think you can tell Bubba about the dream you had? I think it might make you feel better.” He hoped that this would work because clearly Katie was upset about whatever she had dreamed about. But if she was so upset, the young girl may not be in a state where she would talk about her dream. 

“It was scary.” Katie said slowly. The crying had luckily stopped at this point but she was still scared. It was evident from how the child was still clinging to her grandfather like how a baby koala clung to their mother. 

“How was it scary sweetie?” Munch asked. As she aired for the girl’s response the detective could not help but tuck some of her blonde hair behind her ear. It was a little bit tangled because Katie had been sleeping, but it was something that could be dealt with later on. 

“Cause mommy leave me all alone again.” Katie told her grandfather. Her little hands gripped her stuffed bunny a bit tighter. “But it different in dream.” the girl continued looking down at the blankets on the hospital bed. 

“Can you tell me how it was different?” Munch asked looking down at his granddaughter, as he continued to rub her back and hold her close to him. He was a bit unsure of what else to do to comfort the little girl but his simple presence seemed to be enough to keep Katie calm. Well for right now at least. 

Katie was quiet then and she continued to look down at the hospital blankets. It was a long few moments of what felt like painful silence to Munch before his granddaughter responded to his question. “Cause Mommy not the same. She threw away all the food and drinks. Then she laugh and tell me bye bye.” As the girl was recounting the dream tears were starting to form in her brown eyes once again, threatening to spill over. Clearly she was still about the dream and talking about it was upsetting her. “Then she leave me and lock me in the house so I no go after her. And I cry and cry for her but she no come back and no one come for me. Not even you Bubba and then I cry and cry before you waked me up.” This was the point where the young girl began to cry all over again. 

Munch felt his heart break for a second time seeing how Katie was upset again and he continued to rub her back and hold her close to him. He felt her bury her face into his shirt once again as she was crying. If there was a way John could take away the nightmares for his granddaughter he would do so. It was hard to see his granddaughter so upset like this. Katie was definitely his little princess and he treated her as such. Sadly, there was no way Munch was able to take the nightmares away from his granddaughter completely. All he could do was sit there and comfort her and reassure her that everything was ok and that the bad dream was not real. 

“It was just a bad dream, sweetie. You are not alone. I am right here and I am not going anywhere.” Munch told his granddaughter, still rubbing her back as she cried into his shirt. 

It took a few minutes for Katie to calm down and Munch kept rubbing her back even though she had long stopped crying at this point. But he did use his free hand to grab a tissue from the tissue box that was near the hospital bed. After wiping her nose and throwing away the tissue, John kissed the top of Katie’s head and held her close again. 

“Bubba?” Katie asked softly from her place in her grandfather’s arms. “You tell me another story?”

Even though it was the middle of the night and all John himself wanted to do himself was go to sleep there was no way that he could say no to this small request Katie had. Anything to help her fall asleep. 

“Of course sweetie. Bubba can tell you a quick story to help you sleep.” Munch told his granddaughter. “And then we’ll go back to sleep OK? I’ll be right here next to you all night.” when Katie nodded her head slowly Munch began to tell her a story. Like before he made it up as he went along. 

Luckily after a few minutes the story put Katie to sleep. She was cuddled up to her grandfather resting her head on his chest and clutched Bun Bun in her arms. After John was sure that Katie was sleeping soundly, the detective took off his glasses putting them on the table besides the bed before he fell asleep himself. 

* * *

It was early in the morning when Munch was woken up by someone shaking his shoulder. It caused him to be startled and sit up in the bed, squinting from the sunlight streaming into the room. Reaching over for his glasses Munch put them on to see that it was Captain Cragen in the hospital room. Luckily Katie was still sleeping soundly, still curled up to her bubba as she had been earlier, Bun Bun still clutched in her arms. John was not about to wake her up when she was sleeping so peacefully, especially as she most likely had not slept much the nights she was all on her own. 

“You look like you didn’t sleep much.” Cragen remarked watching as Munch carefully slid off of the bed and laid Katie down so her head was resting on the pillow as she slept. Luckily the young girl was still sleeping soundly and had not noticed that Munch was no longer right next to her. The captain handed the detective a cup of coffee which was accepted gratefully by the latter who took a long sip. Cragen put a bag down on a side table, he had brought some bagels for Munch and Katie to have for breakfast.

“I found myself watching her sleep. I had to make sure that she was alright.” Munch said taking another sip of coffee. The caffeine would be much needed to get through the day. 

“How’s she doing?” Cragen asked looking back at Katie who was still peacefully sleeping in the bed. 

“She is doing as well as one would expect her to do after what she’s gone through. The doctors had to put her on IV fluids because she was so dehydrated. And I had to stop Katie from choking last night because she was shoving her food into her mouth so fast. She also needs a bath because she hasn’t had one for a while but other than that the doctor says she is going to be fine. Well.... she’ll be fine physically at least,” Munch replied. 

Cragen nodded as he listened to Munch. “That’s good. Olivia told me what Katie told her last night about what happened. How is she doing emotionally?” 

John took another long sip from his coffee and sighed for a moment before answering his captain “She was a wreck when Olivia and I arrived at the scene, sobbing hysterically. You could hear her cries from down the hall. And she was clinging to me like a vine last night and didn’t want to let go of me when the ambulance came. I rode with her and she refused to let go of my hand the entire ride and once they brought her here. She had a nightmare about what happened, she was screaming and crying hysterically from it. I spent a while trying to calm her down and eventually got her to sleep.” 

“And how are you doing?” Cragen asked Munch. “You doing OK? I know you must be going through a lot right now.” 

Truth be told, Munch was feeling a lot of different things at the moment. But because he had been focusing so much on his granddaughter the past few hours, his own feelings had taken a backseat because Katie needed him. His granddaughter was John’s most important priority at the moment. Plus, with how much she had clung to him last night, it was not like he was able to do too much for himself. 

“I should have known something was wrong. I really should have gone over and checked on them. Then none of this would have happened.” Munch said shaking his head slightly. “I made a point to spend more time with Katie after my son died, helped my daughter in law by babysitting or let Katie spend the night with me at my apartment. I had dinner with them at least once a week. But still this happened.”

“John…” Cragen said slowly “You can’t blame yourself for this. None of what happened was your fault.” 

“I didn’t try to be there for Ashley as much as I should have. I helped her with childcare and had dinner with her but that was it. I was more focused on Katie that I forgot about Katie’s mother and how she was doing.” Munch said. “After Josh died, she took it hard of course but she seemed to be getting better. I guess I was wrong. I never saw her as the type to abandon her own child. Katie could have died if they had found her too late.” 

One thing Munch was grateful for was that Katie had been found when she was. With how dehydrated she had been, it probably would not have taken too much longer before she would have died of dehydration. There was no way Munch would have been able to endure another loss, especially right after Josh’s death. The pain from that was still so fresh and real even three months after the accident. 

“But the good thing is that they find her and she is going to recover.” Cragen told Munch. 

“I know you’ve had a lot to think about but have you thought about what you are going to do when Katie is released from the hospital?” 

That was one thing John knew he had to think about as he had no idea what it would look like once Katie was given the all clear to go home. One thing that Josh and Ashley had done after getting married on the advice of the detective himself , was that they made a will. And they had asked John if he would raise Katie if something were to ever happen to the both of them. Munch had said yes of course, but never in a thousand years he would ever be in the position where he would have to potentially raise his granddaughter.

“That hasn’t even crossed my mind. But I am taking her back to my place once she’s able to leave. Her parents made a will after they got married and named me as Katie’s guardian if something were to ever happen to the two of them.” Munch told Cragen. “I said yes when they asked me but I never thought I would ever have to be in the position where I would possibly have to raise her.”

“Well that’s a start. But you still have to go to family court. I can make a call to Cabot and see if she can recommend someone to you to help you in court.” Cragen said. 

John nodded slowly as he took a sip of coffee. This was going to be a long process and there was no way of knowing how long Katie would be in his care. It could be a week or it could be months that Katie stayed with him and that idea was slightly nerve-wracking to the senior detective. Taking Katie for a night or a weekend was one thing. She’d have her suitcase packed and it was a time for John to spend some quality one on one time with Katie. But raising her was a totally different story, especially as it would be different taking care of a little girl versus raising a little boy. 

Plus this time Munch would be doing this on his own without anyone else there to share the responsibility with. When Josh was young he and his wife had obviously been married but had gotten divorced when Josh was really young. They had split custody of Josh after the divorce and co-parented. Co-parenting was fine and Josh had turned out well with him and his ex wife’s parenting. This time it was all up to him though as his ex still lived down in Baltimore and John was busy with his life here in New York City. 

“Thanks Captain.” Munch said glancing back over at Katie out of the corner of his eye. It was a relief to see her still sound asleep after the day she had yesterday and how long she had been up after her nightmare. “It helps a lot. But I’m going to have to take time off to take care of her. She needs me and I don’t know if I can leave her right now based on how she was clinging to me.”

“I understand and I have already given you have time off to spend with Katie. As much time as you need to take care of her. We have it handled at the precinct.” Cragen said. “We’re going to handle her case. We will find her mother.” 

It was still quite difficult for Munch’s mind to actually process that his granddaughter was actually the victim in a case that his squad was investigating. There was no way that the detective could have predicted or imagined this. Because of how he was the blood relative of the victim of the case and his role as a detective, John knew that he was going to have to recuse himself from the case. He was too close to everything. But John still wanted to know what happened and why Ashley had done what she did to her own daughter. But would knowing make things any better?

“Bubba!” A tiny familiar voice called out for John which snapped him from his thoughts. “Bubba!” the voice said again. Munch turned towards the bed and saw that Katie was awake now. Even though he was only a couple of feet away from her and she could see him it was clear that she had gotten scared that he was not right beside her when she had woken up. So the grandfather walked over to the bed and sat on the edge carefully giving Katie a small hug and kissing top of her head while rubbing her back gently. 

“Bubba, you leave me!” Katie said upset. She was not crying thankfully but she was still upset,nonetheless. 

“I didn’t leave you sweetie. I am right here in the room with you. You’re ok honey.” Munch said to his granddaughter, reassuring her that she was OK. He looked up from comforting Katie and saw Cragen and the expression on his face. It was not a good sign if Katie was freaking out over Munch simply getting up the bed to talk to someone in the room. Once Katie seemed reassured Munch stopped rubbing her back but kept an arm around her as she rested her head on Munch’s chest holding Bun Bun close to her. “Katie, do you remember my friend Captain Cragen? He works with Olivia and I at the police station.” Munch asked. 

The young girl looked over at Cragen who had moved closer to the bed and sat down on the chair near Katie’s hospital bed. She studied his face for a long moment before she slowly nodded her head yes. 

“I remembers him.” Katie told Munch. She remembered meeting Captain Cragen when she was at the precinct when Munch had been watching her for her mother. 

“Well, I’m glad you are doing OK now that the doctors are helping you.” Cragen told Katie. “It’s been a little while since I saw you.” 

“Are you gonna find my mommy?” Katie asked Cragen. The young girl knew that Munch was a police officer. Munch had explained to her what his job was when she had asked him one time when Munch picked up Katie from daycare one day after work when she spent a weekend with him. And she knew that her bubba and his work friends helped people who needed it.

Munch knew that it was the job of the special victims unit to help his granddaughter and find her mother. But he was not sure if he was ready to hear what Ashley had done to her daughter because of his own feelings of anger towards her right now. And even though she had been abandoned by her mother, Munch knew Katie loved her mother a lot and she was only three years old, so she would want her mother to be found so she could see her again. Even if she had just gone through a major trauma with her mother. 

“We are going to try our best to find her sweetie.” Cragen said to Katie giving her a small smile. 

This seemed to be a good enough answer for Katie as she smiled a bit. It was the first time since he had found Katie that she had smiled. Even if it was a small smile. Seeing that smile was more like the granddaughter John knew and loved very much. Hopefully it would not be gone for very long. 

“Bubba? I hungry.” Katie told Munch. “I eat breakfast now?” It was not too surprising that Katie was hungry from how she had inhaled her food and had nearly choked on her dinner the previous night. 

Before Munch had a chance to say anything to his granddaughter that was when Cragen took the bag of bagels he had brought for Munch and Katie. “I brought these for you and your Bubba to have for breakfast.” Cragen told her. 

“What do you say Katie?” Munch asked Katie to remind her to use her manners when she did get her food. Her parents had been working on her manners with her since Katie was able to form complete sentences. They had been done well as Katie was pretty good about remembering her manners. But she was still only three so she could forget and just needed a reminder just in case. 

“Thank you Captain.” Katie said as Munch unwrapped the plain bagel with cream cheese for her and put it on some napkins on the rollaway tray table that was next to the hospital bed. Of course munch would eat his own breakfast but after yesterday’s little episode with the food he would make sure that Katie was OK before his own breakfast. They did not need another close choking call. 

“You are very welcome Katie.” Cragen said as he got up from the chair next to the bed. “I have to go to work now but I am glad I got to see you and that you are doing good.” As he was getting ready to leave Cragen gave John a small but still perceptible nod. 

“Bye!” Katie said waving to Cragen as he was leaving. She smiled and began to eat as the Captain gave her a small wave from the doorway before closing the door to the hospital room. 

* * *

It was later in the morning when Munch heard the sound of his cell phone ringing. He had been sitting in the chair next to Katie’s hospital bed as she watched _Sesame Street_ on the television in her room. Because Katie was glued to the TV and was focused on watching Elmo that Munch went to the corner of the room in order to answer the phone. He did not want to answer the phone in the hallway where he would be in the way of the doctors and nurses working here. Plus with how much noise in the hallway it would make it harder for the detective to hear the other person on the line. John was also sure that Katie would get upset if he left the room for even a second. When he had gone to use the bathroom attached to the hospital room Katie had freaked out and cried. So John knew if he went into the hallway Katie would have a massive freakout. 

“Munch.” The detective spoke into the cell phone. Out of the corner of his eye Munch kept an eye on Katie to see how she was doing. Luckily the little girl was still watching the TV totally engrossed in her show that she was not paying attention to her grandfather talking on the cell phone. 

“Hey John.” Olivia greeted John from the other line. “How are you doing? Cragen told us about his visit to see you and Katie.” She said. 

Munch nodded at what Olivia said. He knew Cragen must have been on his way to the precinct when he had stopped by the hospital and then filled the rest of the detectives in on what he had told Cragen. “Katie had a rough night, After you left I put her to bed and during the night around two in the morning she woke from a nightmare and it took me over an hour to get her to calm down to where she finally fell asleep. So I didn’t sleep much last night and had a rough night as well. I’ve had a lot of coffee to compensate for that.” Munch replied. 

“How is Katie doing physically?” Olivia asked. “Do they still have her on the IV liquids?” 

“She’s drank some water from a bottle but they are having her on the IV for a little longer. I have a feeling you weren't calling just to check in on us.” Munch said to Olivia. He was not sure what to expect but he knew there was something up if Olivia was wanting to talk with him about something. 

“Cragen called Cabot after filling in Elliot and Finn about the case. He called to see if she could use her connections to help you find a family court lawyer to gain custody of Katie. Cabot made some calls and she has a friend who can help you gain custody. Their name is Rachel Corbin. She’s willing to come meet you at the hospital to talk to you.” Olivia told Munch. 

The detective knew that he would have had to get custody of Katie sooner or later. At least it would be taken care of sooner. And Katie would not have to be put into a foster home and go through the foster care system. The poor girl had already been through enough in the past few days and there was no need to rip her away from the only other family member she had in the city. 

“That’s good. I’m not leaving the hospital anytime soon.” Munch said. “Did she say when this lawyer would be coming over to the hospital?” 

“Cabot didn’t say but it would be sometime today. Before I go, is there anything we could do for you and Katie?” Olivia asked. 

Munch thought for a moment. If Katie was going to be having an extended stay with him then he was going to need a lot more of her things. At his apartment he kept small things like toiletries, socks and underwear, a pair of pajamas and a few spare changes of clothes for Katie. Plus since Katie was three years old after all and would want her favorite toys with her. There were a couple of her father’s old toys from his childhood that he has saved at John’s apartment but Katie still usually brought a few of her toys whenever she had stayed with him. And he definitely did not have enough for her as it could be a long stay depending on how long they took to find Ashley and any legal actions that she would face whenever she was brought back to the city. 

“Is the apartment still blocked off? I don’t have enough things to take care of Katie like clothes, and she is going to want some of her toys with her. I would go but I can’t leave Katie. I can give you my spare key to the apartment.” Munch told Olivia. 

“You don’t have to leave her. We can go to the apartment and get the stuff. I can see if they cleared the scene and pack some of her stuff up to bring to you.” Olivia said to John. 

“Thanks Olivia.” Munch said. “I really appreciate it.” John honestly did not know how he would be doing without people helping him right now. 

“You’re welcome. Take care of Katie. Give us a call if you need anything.” Olivia said before she hung up the phone. 

Munch flipped his phone closed and then put it in his pocket. As he did this he heard the sound of Katie’s little voice calling out for him. So he turned and went back over to where Katie was laying in the hospital bed. He sat down in the chair next to her and asked “What is it sweetie?”

“Bubba, why you go over there?” Katie asked as her little hand reaching out towards her grandfather’s. If he was not sitting on the bed next to her she still wanted to at least hold his hand. Munch took her small hand into his own, knowing it was reassuring to Katie that he was there. 

“I had to answer the phone sweetie. I didn’t leave you, I was only on the phone for a little bit. It was Olivia. She came over to talk to us last night remember? She just called to tell me a few things.” Munch told Katie. 

The little girl thought about that for a moment and said “OK Bubba. Watch Elmo with me?”

“Of course honey.” Munch said as he got comfortable and watched the show while holding onto Katie’s hand. Anything to make her happy.

* * *

Around one in the afternoon Katie had fallen asleep after lunch. Most of the morning Katie had asked for snacks, saying she was hungry, but the doctors wanted to make sure she ate slowly and did not throw up anything she ate. So when her lunch had come she had eaten it pretty happily. Munch was glad that Katie was taking a nap as she needed the sleep after the night she had. The little girl had gotten to the age where naptime was a bit more of a battle so the fact she had gone down without much of a fight after all was a miracle within itself. 

Munch had watched Katie for a few moments to make sure that she was asleep before he turned off the tv in her hospital room. He had gotten the newspaper to read while Katie slept. Right as he was starting to read an article there was a knock on the door. John put the newspaper on the side table and out of the corner of his eye made sure that Katie was sleeping. The detective walked over to the door then and opened it. 

There was a woman standing there in front of the door. She did not seem to be too much younger than John did, in her mid forties and was carrying a briefcase in her left hand. She was dressed in a light blue pantsuit outfit. “Are you John Munch?” The woman asked. “My name is Rachel Corbin. Alex Cabot told me you could be in use of my services.” 

Oh right. This was the family court lawyer. To be honest, Munch had forgotten about her coming over while making sure Katie ate her lunch and watched Sesame Street with her. Munch really had to call Alex Cabot later on to thank her for what she was doing for him right now as it was a huge favor that she had done for him. 

“Yes that’s me. Come in. Just be quiet, I just got my granddaughter down for a nap and I don’t want to wake her.” Munch said as he stood aside to let the lawyer into the hospital room. 

“Of course. I understand completely. I have three daughters of my own.” Rachel said as she walked in as Munch closed the door behind her. The woman then proceeded to sit in the chair across from the one next to Katie’s bed and put her briefcase by her feet. She opened the briefcase to take out her notepad and pen. 

John walked back over to the chair near where Katie was asleep and sat down. Talking to a lawyer about taking custody of his only grandchild was never something that the grandfather ever thought that he would have to do but here he was. But at least with Katie in his custody it would reassure Munch that Katie was safe and that she couldn’t be abandoned again. 

“How much do you know already?” Munch asked Rachel as he was not sure if this woman knew much about the situation at all. He was certain Cragen had told Cabot the information that he and Olivia had told him. 

“Cabot told me what your captain told her this morning.” Rachel said. “Considering the circumstances, I can file for a petition to have temporary custody of your granddaughter. And because the hospital needs to release your granddaughter to a parent or guardian, I can get an emergency hearing set for sometime this week.” Rachel told Munch. “I just want to ask a couple of questions.” 

Munch sat back and took in everything that Rachel told him and nodded slightly, it all made sense to him. He didn’t care too much about the terms as long as Katie was with him. “Ask away.” He said as he re-adjusted himself in the uncomfortable hospital chair. 

“I know that your son was young and your daughter in law is also young, but did they ever prepare a will where they had stated what would happen if they were unable to raise their daughter?” Rachel asked. “If they do have a will it could be extremely helpful to you.”

“They did prepare a will, they were advised to after my granddaughter was born. I don’t know the name of the lawyer who they went to but they did ask me to raise her if something were to happen to the both of them.” Munch replied. 

“Well I can see if I can locate the lawyer they used for creating their will. But also I have to ask about any other family members in Kaitlynn’s life.” Rachel said. “Besides yourself, who does she have on your side of the family?”

Munch looked back at Katie for a moment as she continued to nap before answering the lawyer’s question. “Katie’s father, my son, was killed in a car accident in January and his mother and I spilt up when my son was really young but we shared custody. My ex wife had another child after our divorce, Katie’s aunt. My ex’s mother is still alive that is all I really know about my ex’s side. They live in Baltimore so Katie only sees them a few times a year.” He said. “And I have a brother whom Katie has seen here in the city.”

“And her mother’s side of the family?” Rachel questioned. “How much do you know about them?” 

Munch didn’t know Ashley’s family well. Having only met her parents and her siblings a few times and had only met the extended family at the wedding. And it had been a few years since the wedding had happened. But they all seemed like decent people. “Her parents live in Boston most of the time but also have a home in Orlando. They are caring for their aging parents and Ashley has two older brothers and two older sisters in the Boston area. I don’t know much else about her family. 

Rachel wrote some things down on the notepad. “How active are you in your granddaughter’s life?” she asked. 

“Pretty active. I moved up to New York from Baltimore back in ‘99 to take a job up here. She was about 18 months old when I did. Before that I saw her whenever my son and her mother were in Baltimore. But after moving here I saw her a lot more and helped her parents out. But after my son died I made a point to spend more time with her, babysit her, let her spend the night with me, have dinner with her and her mom. Stuff like that.” Munch told Rachel. 

“And do you think you are going to be able to provide the care Kaitlynn needs and provide a stable home for her?” Rachel asked. 

Munch knew because he worked as a detective he worked off hours and that those hours were long. There had been times he had to postpone plans with Katie because of a case and not being able to leave the squad room. But he would do whatever he could for Katie because he loved her so much, he couldn’t lose her too. And the judge may see his job as a hindrance in his ability to be there for Katie but he would make sure that was not the case. 

“I know my job as a detective keeps me busy and I work odd and long hours, but I already have taken care of my granddaughter and I know how to take care of her the way her parents would want her to be taken care of. And I would do whatever I need to do for her. I love her so much and would not let anything bad happen to her.” Munch told Rachel. “She’s gone through enough hell.” 

The conversation between Munch and Rachel continued for another hour where Rachel explained to Munch what the court would be like and what he should expect. As Rachel was finishing some notes up Rachel asked “Do you have anything else you want to ask me?” 

John thought for a moment, his mind going a thousand different directions at the same time. There was so much he was trying to figure out. So he just shook his head no. “No. I can call if I think of something. Thank you.” Munch said getting up so he could see Rachel out the door 

After Rachel packed her things up and followed Munch to the door before stopping the doorway and said “You have nothing to worry about. I don’t see any problems with the court awarding you custody. Give me a call if you need something. I’ll let you know the court date.” Rachel said as she walked out the door. 

Munch closed the door behind Rachel heading back to the chair next to Katie’s hospital bed. Amazingly the young girl had slept through the entire meeting with Rachel which the grandfather was happy about because he didn’t want little Katie to overhear anything Rachel said and to worry about things that was something she didn’t need to worry about. But one thing was for sure there was no way Munch would let anyone take Katie away from him. 

* * *

It did not take long for Rachel to call Munch back with a court date. She was able to get an emergency hearing for the next day. And that was a good thing because Katie’s doctor had said she would be able to go home the next day because she was in better shape. They had taken her off the IV fluids and she was back to drinking what she would normally drink and she was able to keep meals down. And the nurses said because they did not have the facilities for it that Katie would have to wait to have a bath for when she came home. But one of the nurses had come and washed Katie’s hair and combed it out for her and braided it. 

John did not know how to do Katie’s hair besides brushing it and help put a headband in Katie’s hair. So he was glad the nurse had done it for him and it seemed to have make the little girl happy which is something she needed after what she had been through. As Katie was eating her dinner and watching _Blue’s Clues_ on the television. The dinner happened to be one of her favorite foods, mac and cheese. Her face had a bit of sauce on it but Munch would wait until she was done eating before he wiped her face. Munch had ordered a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria for himself. It wasn’t great but the detective was not expecting much from a hospital cafeteria. He had explained to Katie that she would be getting to leave tomorrow which made her happy but he had not said anything about him having to go to court. Munch did not plan on telling her about that until he had to go, knowing she would most likely freak out. 

“Bubba?” Katie asked as she was finishing up her dinner but her eyes remained glued to the TV. 

Munch was in the middle of taking a bite of his sandwich, so once he swallowed he wiped his mouth with a napkin and said “Yes sweetie?” 

“What happen when I leave?” Katie asked. “We go back my house? Cause I want to go back home. Bun Bun too.” 

John sat for a moment thinking about how he should explain this to Katie. She was only three years old she truly did not understand what was going on right now. The detective wanted to make sure that he did not make Katie feel upset or anxious about anything going on right now. 

“Well sweetie I am going to have a friend get some of your stuff from your house and they will bring it to me because you are going to stay with Bubba for a bit while they find mommy ok? It’s like when you come sleepover with Bubba. OK? Won’t that be fun?” Munch asked hoping Katie would be OK with that. 

“A sleepover? Bun Bun too? And my dollies?” Katie asked as she finished her dinner then, the tray completely empty, she had even eaten her green beans. 

Munch took the wet wipe that came with the meal and wiped the mac and cheese off her face even as Katie made a face and turned away as she did not like the feeling of the wipe on her face. After throwing away the wet wipe he answered Katie’s question. “Yes Bun bun is invited too. I know you would be lonely without him. And your dollies will come too. I’ll tell my friend to get what you want, OK?” Munch said.

“OK Bubba and bun Bun a girl not boy” Katie said correcting her grandfather slightly annoyed her grandfather had called her stuffed bunny a boy. 

John couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle and said “I’m sorry. Well, please tell Bun Bun that she is coming with us.” 

Katie smiled at this and said. “OK. Cause Bun Bun scared when she alone. And she no like being alone.” 

“Well we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Munch said leaning over and kissing Katie on the top of her head and tucked away a piece of stray hair that had gotten loose from the braid the nurse had done. 

“Bubba? Can you come cuddle me?” Katie asked from her place in the hospital bed. “Please?” 

“Of course, sweetie.” Munch said, unable to deny Katie this small request. Plus he was dying to get out of the uncomfortable hospital chair. The grandfather got up and gently sat down on the bed next to Katie and sat on the edge of the bed. 

The little girl instantly snuggled right up to him with her bunny in her arm as her head rested on his chest and she kept watching _Blue’s Clues._ John let out a small smile as he leaned down and kissed the top of Katie’s head and held her close. Hopefully tomorrow good news would come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- 
> 
> I am so so sorry for not updating for over a month, work has been crazy for me this past month between my two jobs and i have been busy! i hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you thought of the chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! please let me know what you think of the story so far! obviously i do not own law and order svu nor the characters from the show. i will update the story as frequently as i can, i work two part time jobs so i don't have a set schedule of when the story will be updated. i enjoyed writing the story and hope you all enjoyed reading it! 


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